What Happened in December 1984

Historical Events

Beverly Hills Cop

Dec 1 "Beverly Hills Cop" directed by Martin Brest and starring Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold premieres in Los Angeles

Dec 1 49th Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 17-15 in Birmingham

Doug Flutie

Dec 1 50th Heisman Trophy Award: Doug Flutie, Boston College (QB)

Dec 1 American boxer Greg Page KOs home town favourite Gerrie Coetzee in 8th round to win WBA heavyweight title in Sun City, South Africa

Chris Evert's 1,000th

Dec 1 American tennis icon Chris Evert wins her 1,000th career professional match; beats Pascale Paradis of France 6-1, 6-7, 6-2 in the round of 16 at the Australian Open; Evert goes on to win the event

Dec 1 France performs nuclear test
Dec 2 Australian Test cricket spin bowler Bob Holland takes a career best 9-83 for NSW in the Sheffield Shield match against South Australia in Sydney

Dan Marino

Dec 2 Miami quarterback Dan Marino breaks NFL single-season touchdown pass record when he throws his 37th in the Dolphins' 45-34 loss to the Raiders; finishes season with 48 TD passes

Dec 2 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan

Do They Know It's Christmas

Dec 3 "Do They Know It's Christmas" single written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure and sung by an all-star cast under the banner of Band Aid is released in the UK

Singer-Songwriter and Political Activist Bob Geldof

Dec 3 Bhopal disaster: A Union Carbide pesticide plant leaks 45 tons of methyl isocyanate and other toxic compounds in Bhopal, India, officially killing 2,259 - other estimates are as high as 16,000 (including later deaths) and over half a million injured
Dec 4 6th ACE Cable Awards: "David Bowie: Serious Moonlight" by Anthony Eaton and HBO win
Dec 4 Hezbollah militants hijack a Kuwait Airlines plane, killing four passengers.
Dec 5 French colonies killed 10 Kanaken in New Caledonia
Dec 5 New York Yankees trade catcher Rick Cerone to Atlanta Braves for pitcher Brian Fisher

Rickey Henderson to the Yankees

Dec 5 Oakland Athletics trade Rickey Henderson to the NY Yankees for Jay Howell and Jose Rijo

Dec 6 France performs nuclear test
Dec 6 Helena Suková snaps Martina Navratilova's 74-match winning streak 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the semi finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne; ends Navratilova's hopes of completing the Grand Slam
Dec 6 Hijackers aboard Kuwaiti jetliner kill 2nd hostage

Border Captains Australia

Dec 7 Allan Border's 1st Test Cricket match as captain (v WI Adelaide)

Dec 8 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Chris Evert-Lloyd beats Helena Suková 6-7, 6-1, 6-3; continues streak of winning at least 1 major per year since 1973
Dec 8 Europe & 64 developing countries sign Lome III treaty

Ringo Starr Hosts SNL

Dec 8 Ringo Starr hosts "Saturday Night Live"; Herbie Hancock is the musical guest

Beatles Drummer, Singer, and Actor Ringo Starr

Wilander 2nd Straight Win

Dec 9 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Sweden's Mats Wilander wins 2nd straight Australian title; beats Kevin Curren of South Africa 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2

Tennis Player and Seven-Time Major Champion Mats Wilander

Dec 9 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Dec 9 Iranian commandos end 5-day hijacking of Kuwaiti plane

Dickerson Rush Record

Dec 9 LA Ram Eric Dickerson rushes 215 yards for season record 2,105 yards

Thomson Wins Seniors

Dec 9 Senior PGA Championship, PGA National GC: Australian Peter Thomson wins his lone Champions Tour major title by 3 strokes from Don January

Dec 10 1st "planet" outside our solar system discovered

Nobel to Archbishop Tutu

Dec 10 South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu is presented with his Nobel Peace Prize

Anglican Archbishop and Activist Desmond Tutu

Dec 10 WNSY-AM in Newport News VA returns from WGH
Dec 11 "Doug Henning & His World..." opens at Lunt-Fontanne NYC for 60 performances
Dec 11 Mauretania military coup under Col Maawiya Ould Sid'ahmed Taya
Dec 13 Artificial heart recipient William Schroeder suffers 1st stroke
Dec 14 Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires from Monday Night Football
Dec 15 USSR launches Vega 1 for rendezvous with Halley's Comet

A Christmas Carol

Dec 18 "A Christmas Carol" directed by Clive Donner starring George C. Scott premieres in the US

Dec 18 73rd Davis Cup: Sweden beats USA in Gothenburg (4-1)
Dec 19 33 unknown Bach keyboard works found in Yale library [1]
Dec 19 China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC

Hong Kong Back to China

Dec 19 Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sign the Sino-British Joint Declaration to transfer Hong Kong back to China in 1997

The Sino-British Joint Declaration is signed by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (left) and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang (right)

Dec 19 Fire at Wilberg Mine in central Utah killed 27 people

Bowman's Record NHL Win

Dec 19 Scotty Bowman wins his 691st regular season game, the most wins by any coach in NHL history

Gretzky Youngest to Score 1,000

Dec 19 Wayne Gretzky, 23, is 18th & youngest NHL-er to score 1,000 points

Dec 20 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Dec 21 Brigham Young University (BYU) beats Michigan, 24-17 in the Holiday Bowl at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego to remain undefeated and secure their first ever NCAA Division I-A football title
Dec 21 Islander Kelly Hrudy's 1st shut-out win-Whalers 1-0
Dec 21 USSR launches Vega 2 for fly-by of Halley's Come
Dec 22 Bernhard Goetz shoots 4 black muggers on NYC subway train

"Like a Virgin"

Dec 22 Madonna's "Like a Virgin" single goes #1 for 6 weeks

Dec 22 Test Cricket debut of Craig McDermott, v WI at the MCG

Richards Bats 208

Dec 23 West Indies batsman Viv Richards scores 208 vs Ausatralia in test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Cricketer and Master Blaster Viv Richards

Dec 24 Palace coup in Mauritania

Michel Platini's Second in a Row

Dec 25 Ballon d'Or: Juventus' French midfielder Michel Platini is named Europe's best football player for the 2nd consecutive time; beats Bordeaux midfielder Jean Tigana and Verona striker Preben Elkjær

Dec 25 Knicks basketball forward Bernard King scores 60 points, but New York loses, 120-114 to the New Jersey Nets on Xmas Day at Madison Square Garden
Dec 27 Padres' free agent pitcher Ed Whitson signs with NY Yankees
Dec 28 Creosote bush determined to be 11,700 years old

Rajiv Gandhi Wins Election

Dec 28 Rajiv Gandhi's Congress party wins the general election in India

Hughes Poet Laureate

Dec 28 Ted Hughes is appointed British Poet Laureate by Queen Elizabeth II

Queen of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II

Dec 28 TV soap "Edge of Night" ends 28 year run
Dec 28 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh, Semipalitinsk USSR
Dec 29 5th United Negro College Fund
Dec 29 Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi claims victory in parliamentary elections
Dec 29 NHL St. Louis Blues launch 27 shots in 1 period during 5-1 loss to visiting New York Islanders; NY goaltender Kelly Hrudey finishes game with 47 saves
Dec 29 Wayne Gretzky scores his NHL career 32nd hat trick & adds 3 assists in Edmonton's 6-3 win over Detroit Red Wings for his 100th point in just 35 games; 2nd fastest in history - recorded 100 points in 34 games in 1983
Dec 31 Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen loses his arm in a car crash
Dec 31 NYC subway gunman Bernhard Goetz surrenders to police in NH
Dec 31 Test Cricket debut of Mohammad Azharuddin, v England at Calcutta
Dec 31 US leaves UNESCO

Events in 1984

Famous Birthdays

Dec 1 Yolandi Visser, South African rapper (Die Antwoord), born in Port Albert, South Africa
Dec 2 Maryna Viazovska, Ukrainian mathematician (Fields Medal 2022, work on densest way to pack spheres in eight dimensions), born in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Dec 4 Brooke Adams, American model and professional wrestler, born in St. Louis, Missouri
Dec 4 Joe Thomas, American College/Pro Football HOF offensive tackle (University of Wisconsin; 10 x Pro Bowl; 6 × First-team All-Pro; Cleveland Browns), born in Brookfield, Wisconsin
Dec 4 Lauren London, American actress (The Game), born in Los Angeles, California
Dec 4 Lindsay Felton, American actress (Caitlin's Way), born in Seattle, Washington
Dec 5 Chris Solinsky, American distance runner, born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Dec 5 Lera Lynn, American singer-songwriter (True Detective), born in Houston, Texas
Dec 7 Aaron Gray, American NBA basketball player, 2007-14 (Chicago Bulls and 3 other teams), born in Tarzana, California
Dec 7 Luca Rigoni, Italian footballer, born in Schio, Italy
Dec 7 Robert Kubica, Polish race car driver (1st Pole to compete in Formula One), born in Kraków, Poland
Dec 8 Badr Hari, Dutch kickboxer, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dec 8 Greg Halford, English footballer, born in Chelmsford, United Kingdom
Dec 8 Sam Hunt, American country pop singer (Take Your Time), born in Cedartown, Georgia
Dec 10 Jayson Paul, American professional wrestler
Dec 11 Leighton Baines, English soccer left back (30 caps; Wigan Athletic, Everton 348 games), born in Kirkby, England

Dec 12 Daniel Agger, Danish footballer, born in Hvidovre, Denmark
Dec 14 Chris Brunt, Northern Irish footballer, born in Belfast
Dec 14 Edward Rainsford, Zimbabwean cricketer, born in Kadoma, Zimbabwe
Dec 14 Jackson Rathbone, American actor (The Twilight Saga), born in Singapore
Dec 15 Joshua Hayward, British rock guitarist (The Horrors), born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England
Dec 15 Martin Škrtel, Slovakian soccer defender and captain (104 caps; Liverpool FC 242 games), born in Handlová, Slovakia

Theo James (39 years old)

Dec 16 English actor (Divergent, The Time Traveler's Wife), born in High Wycombe, England

Bob Morley (39 years old)

Dec 20 Australian actor (Bellamy Blake-"The 100"; Drew Curtis-"Home and Away"), born in Kyneton, Victoria, Australia

Dec 20 David Tavaré, Spanish pop-eurodance singer ("Hot Summer Night (Oh La La La)"), born in Pollença, Spain
Dec 21 Darren Potter, Irish soccer midfielder (5 caps Northern Ireland; Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sheffield Wednesday, Milton Keynes Dons 229 games), born in Liverpool, England
Dec 22 Basshunter [Jonas Erik Altberg], Swedish record producer and DJ (Now You're Gone), born in Halmstad, Sweden
Dec 24 Jehnny Beth [Camille Berthomier], French musician, singer-songwriter (John & Jehn; Savages; To Love Is to Live), born in Poitiers, France
Dec 25 Alastair Cook, English cricket batsman and captain (161 Tests, 33 x 100s, HS 294, 175 catches; Essex CCC), born in Gloucester, England
Dec 25 Georgia Moffett, British actress, born in London
Dec 25 Jessica Origliasso, Australian singer-songwriter and actress (The Veronicas), born in Albany Creek, Queensland, Australia
Dec 25 Lisa Origliasso, Australian singer-songwriter and actress (The Veronicas), born in Albany Creek, Queensland, Australia
Dec 25 Nadiya Hussain, English TV chef and writer (Nadiya's British Food Adventure), born in Luton, England
Dec 26 Alex Schwazer, Italian race walker, born in Sterzing, Italy
Dec 27 Gilles Simon, French tennis player (world #6 2009; Davis Cup 2017), born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Dec 27 Pleasure P. [Marcus Cooper], American R&B singer (Pretty Ricky), born in Miami, Florida
Dec 28 Alex Lloyd, British racing driver, born in Manchester, United Kingdom
Dec 28 Beverly Mullins, American wrestler & model, born in Clearwater, Florida
Dec 28 Leroy Lita, Congolese football player, born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dec 28 Martin Kaymer, German golfer (PGA C'ship 2010, US Open 2014), born in Düsseldorf, Germany
Dec 30 Andra Day [Cassandra Batie], American singer-songwriter ("Rise Up"), and actress (The United States vs. Billie Holiday), born in Edmonds, Washington
Dec 30 Dalia Stasevska, Ukrainian-Finnish conductor (Lahti Symphony, 2021-present), born in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, USSR (now Ukraine)

LeBron James (39 years old)

Dec 30 American basketball forward (NBA C'ship & MVP 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020; 16 × NBA All-Star; Olympic gold 2008, 12; Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, LA Lakers), born in Akron, Ohio

Dec 30 Randall Azofeifa, Costa Rican footballer

Born in 1984

Famous Weddings

Dec 3 Oldest groom - Harry Stevens, 103, weds Thelma Lucas, 83, in Wisconsin

Famous Divorces

Kate Jackson

Dec 20 Actress Kate Jackson (36) divorces business executive David Greenwald after 2 years of marriage

Famous Deaths

Dec 1 Roelof Frankot, Dutch painter (b. 1911)
Dec 3 Virginia Lacy Jones, American librarian and presidential advisor, dies at 72
Dec 3 Vladimir Abramovich Rokhlin, Russian mathematician (b. 1919)
Dec 4 John Rock, American obstetrician and gynecologist who co-developed the 1st birth control pill, dies at 94
Dec 5 Adam Malik, Third Vice President of Indonesia (b. 1917)
Dec 6 Ruth Cummings, actress (Daybreak, Dream of Love), dies at 90
Dec 7 Jeanne Cagney, American stage, screen, and radio actress (Lion is in the Streets; Quicksand; Yankee Doodle Dandy), dies of lung cancer at 65
Dec 7 Lonnie "LeeRoy" Yarbrough, American race car (Nascar) driver, dies of head injury from a fall at 46
Dec 8 Luther Adler, American actor (D.O.A., The Desert Fox), dies at 81
Dec 8 Razzle [Nicholas Dingley], British drummer (Hanoi Rocks), dies at 24
Dec 8 Robert Jay Mathews, White Nationalist (b. 1953)
Dec 11 George Waggner, American director and writer (The Wolf Man), dies at 90
Dec 11 Oskar Seidlin, German-born American scholar (b. 1911)
Dec 14 Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish writer (Ambito, Bird of Paper, Nobel 1977), dies at 86
Dec 15 Frank Spedding, Canadian chemist whose uranium extraction process helped make possible the first atomic bomb, dies at 82
Dec 15 Jan Peerce [Jacob Pincus Perelmuth], American tenor (NBC Symphony, 1938-55; NY Metropolitan Opera, 1941-67; "Bluebird of Happiness"), dies at 80

Dec 15 Lennard Pearce, British actor (Only Fools and Horses....), dies of a heart attack at 69
Dec 16 Debs Garms, American baseball utility (World Series 1944 St. Louis Cardinals; NL batting champion 1940 Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 77
Dec 19 Joy Ridderhof, American missionary (b. 1903)
Dec 19 Michel Magne, French experimental music and film score composer (Gigot; Barbarella), and recording studio owner (Château d'Hérouville). takes his own life at 54
Dec 21 Judith Raskin, American soprano (Susanna-Le Nozze di Figaro), dies at 56
Dec 22 Viola Wells [Evans], American jazz, blues, and gospel singer, dies at 82
Dec 23 Joan Lindsay, Australian author (Picnic at Hanging Rock), dies at 88
Dec 24 Ian Hendry, British actor (The Avengers, The Lotus Eaters), dies of a stomach haemorrhage at 53
Dec 24 Peter Lawford, British actor, producer and socialite (Mrs Miniver, Thin Man), dies of cardiac arrest at 61
Dec 26 Gösta Jonsson, Swedish saxophonist, accordion player and bandleader, dies at 69
Dec 26 Tebbs Lloyd Johnson, English race walker (Olympic bronze 50k 1948; oldest Olympic medal-winning athlete; 48 years and 115 days), dies at 84
Dec 28 Sam Peckinpah, American film director (The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs), dies of cardiac arrest at 59
Dec 29 Leo Robin, American songwriter ("Thanks For the Memory"; "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend"), dies of heart failure at 84
Dec 29 Sidney Garfield, American physician and pioneer of health maintenance organizations (Kaiser Permanente), dies at 78
Dec 30 Massa, oldest gorilla on record (b. 1930)

Apple Macintosh Personal Computer

Sino-British Joint Declaration